Where could you use a life edit?
The concept of a “life edit” was first introduced to me during an interview with Chip Conley and can be described as editing or removing the things in our life that no longer serve us — making room for what truly matters. The concept of an edit is simple but often only comes after a major form of a massive life shake-up (i.e. the end of a job, breakup, loss. health scare, etc.).
Instead of doing an edit when forced because of a crisis or stressful situation, what if we paused right now, asked a few questions and conducted our own intentional edit?
Recently, I was able to release mental pressure and self-doubt caused by the most significant business trauma I’ve ever experienced — shutting down a business and deleting an app (KYO). Many of you are here because of my debut book Personal Socrates: Better Questions, Better Life, which goes into the specifics of this situation, but I want to share that it has taken a significant amount of time to process and heal from the experience.
I would still be processing and healing if it weren’t for a recent and subtle life edit — an edit on how I think.
Shutting down KYO left me plagued with self-doubt. I gave it my all but that was not enough for the business to survive. Thankfully the self-doubt did not prevent me from continuing down the entrepreneurial path, though it did hold me back in other ways. I tried new things, failed at most of them but also won on occasion. This is not a new or unique story. Most entrepreneurs fail more than they win, we just don’t hear about the failures as much as the big wins.
When I zoomed out and journaled on the prompts below what became clear was that my mind was solely focused on where I had tried and failed instead of recognizing the wins, even the ones within those failures.
Sound familiar? I know I’m not the only one who quickly forgets the wins and gives all the attention to the areas that did not work out as planned. The sequence of prompts below helped me unpack my subconscious programming and set me free from much of my self-doubt, which I now realize was holding me back from a lot of opportunities.
What are my mental blocks or thoughts holding me back?
Is my internal narrative supporting the person (and business) I’m striving to become?
Where have I directed the majority of my attention this week?
What wins can I celebrate?
This sequence of prompts served as the edit I needed to adjust my thinking, leading to an expansion of opportunities. I focused on flowing in gratitude and positivity from the opportunities in front of me right now. And surprise, surprise, more opportunities started showing up, in fact, the most substantial projects and clients I have worked with to date.
Chip taught me, and I hope you from this piece, that with intentional reflection we can all edit our actions to flow and support the life we desire. Where could you use a life edit right now?
You can listen to my full conversation with Chip here.